Page 3 of 4
This is what we’ve done so far: We created a new Surface Filter. We added a Stones noise as the base of the texture. Since it was flat and dull, we disturbed it with Perlin Noise to add roughness to the rocks. Last, we created a Scale Slide control to let the end user change that value in the finished filter interface.
The image below shows the state of the Filter Editor window. Notice that I’m using a Magenta color that is the default color in my Filter Forge installation. Perhaps you will see a different color.
Also, notice that there is no components pane in this window. You can toggle it on or off using the Components button at the top right of the screen.
We’ve created the texture relief so far. No matter what color you choose in the Results rectangle, it will be applied as a single color all over the surface and will make it far from realistic. It is time to do some magic with the components.
To make this texture realistic we have to apply a color scheme over the rocks. This color scheme has to be of a random or uneven appearance as it is in nature. There are several ways to do that, and each one will result in a different color distribution. In this case we will use the Elevation Gradient component. This component works like the Gradient Map Layer effect in Photoshop. It uses a grayscale image and colorizes it using a gradient. So, each level of gray will be replaced by one color of a gradient. To learn more about the Gradient Map layer effect, read this article I wrote "Rendering a map using relief shading technique in Photoshop".
Lets start with the coloring phase. Go to the components list and select Gradients. Then double click on the Elevation Gradient icon. The component will appear in the working area. Move this component above the Stones component.
The first two settings of this components are: 1) Elevation and 2) Gradient. The Elevation setting is the one that has to be connected to a grayscale map and the Gradient setting has to be connected to a gradient.
Most of the times, the easiest and safest way is to connect the Height map of the texture to the Elevation setting of the Elevation Gradient. In this case we will connect the Stones component to the Elevation setting. You can connect a single component to several other components just by clicking on the green arrow and dragging it to another component. The green arrow will show two lines coming out of it.
If you are lost, see the picture below to see how everything is connected.
See how the Stones component is connected to both the Results rectangle (out of the image) and to the Elevation Gradient rectangle.
Now lets add some color to the Elevation Gradient. Select Gradients from the components list and then double click on the Noise Gradient icon. Align the component to the right of the Elevation Gradient rectangle and connect it to the Gradient setting.
I hope you are getting used to this component manipulation thing by now.
Creating a noise gradient is a bit long to explain, so I will skip that part and will show you the settings I chose for this Noise Gradient:
Make sure that you have connected the Noise Gradient to the Gradient setting of the Elevation Map.
After that, connect the Elevation Map to the Color setting of the Result rectangle and there you are! A nice rock ground.
Quite good, isn’t it? But we are not finished. We will add some reflection to make it look wet, and also we will give it a more dramatic look to it. Check the image below to see what we have so far:
Continue reading this article...
|
